#1 – The Last Dying Light
In the early sixth century, the Eastern Roman Empire faces war, famine and pressure along its northern frontier. Varus, a young Herulian slave in the household of the general and future emperor Justin, learns that his master intends to strengthen the empire and recover territories lost…
#2 – Immortal
The Eastern Roman and Sasanian empires renew their struggle over Mesopotamia. Belisarius is ordered to defend the frontier with an army assembled from regular troops, allied warriors and inexperienced recruits, while Varus joins the campaign as a freedman bound by service to the imperial household. The…
#3 – The Gates of Carthage
After Roman losses at Callinicum, Belisarius is imprisoned and Varus is left to guide surviving troops away from the Persian frontier. In Constantinople, hostility towards Justinian’s government erupts among the Blues and Greens of the Hippodrome, turning factional unrest into the Nika Riots and placing the…
#4 – The Pillars of Herakles
Following the Roman victory at Tricamarum, Belisarius must stabilise the newly conquered Vandal kingdom while famine, local feuds and the weakness of the occupying army threaten the settlement. Varus is sent west to secure Septem, the fortress guarding the Strait of Gibraltar at the Pillars of…
#5 – The Eternal City
After the conquest of Vandal Africa, Justinian uses the murder of the Ostrogothic queen Amalasuntha as grounds for intervention in Italy. Belisarius and Varus lead a small veteran army into the Ostrogothic kingdom, seeking to recover Rome and extend imperial control beyond the first victories in…
#6 – The Seventh Gift
With Rome secured, Belisarius drives north against King Witiges and the remaining Ostrogothic strongholds. The war centres on Milan and Ravenna, while rival groups within the Gothic kingdom debate resistance, negotiation and the possibility of offering Belisarius the western imperial crown. At the same time, unrest…
#7 – An Age of Darkness and Light
Years of war and plague have left Italy depopulated and divided. Under the new king Totila, the Ostrogoths recover territory from overstretched imperial forces, while Italian communities lose confidence in distant government from Constantinople. Justinian recalls Belisarius to the western campaign but provides too few troops…